Is it true what they say about wound Low G strings?

Bao

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I've read on a couple of threads on here that wound low G strings only last for a couple of weeks to a few months?

I've had wound strings on my baritone ukulele for a while now (almost half a year) and they're still sounding fine.
 
I suppose it depends how you play and how OFTEN you play?
I play for a minimum of two hours per day on average,and have
never yet had a wound string last more than two to three weeks
before it starts to wear through where it is fretted!
 
It also depends on your uke to some extent. On my old lanikai tenor, the frets were quite narrow and high, and low-g was unplayable after two weeks. The windings would wear visibly at the frets, and then would break - usually at the 2nd fret.

On my Kamaka tenor, the frets are lower and wider, so low-g will last a lot longer and the wear is less dramatic. I'll usually get a month or so out of a wound low-g, and like luthien I play a couple of hours a day. I usually replace the string before an actual break occurs in the winding.

Wound strings are just like this - the metal is more prone to wear than nylon. The nylon is wearing at the frets too - if you look at the underside where the frets are you'll probably see some fraying. But you'll get 3 to 4 times the life. I generally order a bunch of individual low-g strings when I'm buying my Aquila sets. I'm not sure if other manufacturers offer them singly.

Nohoval
 
You can buy Aquila strings separately?
 
I think it also depends on the type of wound string. I have a set of Southcoast G-650's on my Pono tenor. These are special steel strings that are flat wound (G & C). I probably play on average 4 or 5 hours a week. Didn't keep track of when I put them on but it's probably close to 6 months ago. After that time, no problem with the string and no degredation of sound (sorry Dirk, they just keep on going and I see no reason to replace them)!
 
I think it also depends on the type of wound string. I have a set of Southcoast G-650's on my Pono tenor. These are special steel strings that are flat wound (G & C). I probably play on average 4 or 5 hours a week. Didn't keep track of when I put them on but it's probably close to 6 months ago. After that time, no problem with the string and no degredation of sound (sorry Dirk, they just keep on going and I see no reason to replace them)!

No problem, Goose.

We don't have the cheapest wound sets around, but i think they're as durable as they come. I don't play as much as you guys (hardly have time to play at all), but my feeling was that the flat wounds would be durable.

We also put some extra time (and expense) into material that makes our normal Round Wound sets last a good while longer than is typical.
 
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